How to decorate your home like you’re proper rock’n’roll!

So you’re reading the Sunday Times Style mag, or Grazia, and there’s a gorgeous glossy spread of some cool celebrity mum and her amazing house, full of colour and wildness and random taxidermy. Then you look at your lovely, perfectly nice home and feel a big sense of boredom and disappointment. We’ve all been there. What makes some people capable of turning their homes into visions of eclectic wonder – apart from having wads of money of course?! Here are some little tools you can use to make your home have a bit more of the WOW factor.

Number one, and the most important thing. PHOTO SHOOTS ARE NOT REAL LIFE. There are definitely piles of papers and homework and dirty washing out of sight of the cameras, and all the lovely knick knacks that were spread around the house have been moved into this one corner of the kitchen for this photo. I promise. No one really lives like this. Spend a bit of time styling your home. Pretty mugs and bowls don’t need to live in cupboards, they could be on a shelf or the mantelpiece. Embroidered scarves can be used as throws, a beautiful dress can hang on the outside of the wardrobe, not hidden away… Get creative with what you already have!

Number two, PATTERN. Be brave. I am naturally a very un-patterny person, and, though I love designing with colour and texture, it’s all usually quite plain. However, I’m trying to change! Every time I use pattern, on cushions or fabrics or wallpaper, it looks amazing. Must Use It More. And if you use it, really go for it. If you find a beautiful wild wallpaper that makes your heart sing, put it everywhere. There is nothing exciting about a ‘feature wall’, it’s just shorthand for ‘I wasn’t brave enough to really go for it’. House of Hackney Artemis wallpaper is my current love. I want it in every colour, in every room.

House of Hackney Artemis

Number three, ART. There is Art, and there is art. See my blog post about that. Basically, get those boring old walls covered with pictures that you love, they don’t have to have been bought at auction from Sotheby’s. Check out Print Club London or one of the other brilliant print sellers, add your collection of old keys, or vintage scissors, or some Rockett St George display shelves with candles and plants on, and funk up your space. Curate that wall!!

Walls at Alice Temperley’s country home

There are other things that make a big difference… lots of lighting, floor lamps, side lamps, the more unique the better. Lots of cushions for lounging around on while your mates are throwing TVs out of the window. The key is, BE BRAVE. If you love something but you’re worried that it’s a bit too wild… it’s not. We could all do with being a bit more rock’n’roll. Better to do it with that awesome rug you’ve seen than end up in rehab… again.